On July 8, 1922, a granite facade and portico replaced the earlier one of wood, and was then dedicated and presented by the New England Society in the City of New York. It was accepted by the President, Hon. Arthur Lord, who gave an interesting account of the work accomplished during the century of the Society’s existence.
This work, invaluable alike to Plymouth, to the student of history, and to the people of the nation, has been the preservation, the restoration, and the care of localities and objects connected with an important episode of American history. It includes with the help of generous gifts and subscriptions, the provision of a site for a great National Monument to the Pilgrims; the building of Pilgrim Hall, and the formation of its collections; the grading of Cole’s Hill and Burial Hill; and the assumption of ownership and trusteeship to maintain these in order and dignity; also for many years, the observance with addresses and orations of the anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims.
Its Collections
The collections of the Pilgrim Society are of great historical value. In Pilgrim Hall are preserved personal and household belongings of the Pilgrims, documents with their signatures, their books and Bibles, and the only known portrait of one of their number. Here is the patent issued to the Plymouth Colony in 1621, and the swords of their Governor, Carver, and their Captain, Myles Standish. Near by, a bit of woman’s embroidery, a baby’s shoe—great things and small,—the human element of a great transitional epoch, saved by reverential descendants to become an inheritance for another epoch.
A copy of the Bible translated for the Indians by John Eliot; an agreement with an Indian Sachem, drawn up and signed by John Alden; and a large collection of Indian relics and arrowheads, bear witness here to the life of the wilderness which the Pilgrims assailed with treaty, faith, and sword.
The handsome library contains books, documents, and pamphlets relating to Pilgrim history, with many original records, and affords great opportunities for quiet research. Its windows look down into a shady garden belonging to the Hall, where visitors may rest and refresh themselves by a little fountain presented to the Pilgrim Society by the General Society of the Daughters of the Revolution on September 20th, 1921.
As they loiter, they may mark the flight of time on a sun dial, presented by the Society of the Colonial Daughters of the 17th Century. It was dedicated in September, 1921.
The collections can best be studied with the help of the curator and the catalogue, but some of the most interesting objects connected with the early Pilgrims are those which belonged to:
Governor Carver—His sword and armchair.
Governor Bradford—His “Dialogue” in his own handwriting.